The common yellow-toothed cavy (''Galea musteloides'') is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

in the family

Caviidae Caviidae, the cavy family, is composed of rodents native to South America and includes the domestic guinea pig, wild cavies, and the largest living rodent, the capybara. They are found across South America in open areas from moist savanna to th ...

, closely related to the domesticated

guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the ani ...

. It is found in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. Its

karyotype A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of metaphase chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is disce ...

has 2n = 68 and FN = 136. ''G. musteloides'' is the most common and widely found member of '' Galea'', and is present at elevations ranging from 20 to 5000 m above sea level. It has yellow teeth. A recent study reveals there are five subspecies of ''G. musteloides'': ''boliviensis'', ''demissa'', ''leucoblephara'', ''littoralis'' and ''musteloides''. These are recognized on the basis of pelage coloration, size and shape of skull, auditory bullae size and tooth shape. The species is found within a range from southern Peru to central Argentina. Evidence is mounting that the lowland form of ''G. musteloides'' is an independent species and should be called '' G. leucoblephara''. It is a “diurnal herbivore of squirrel size that lives in groups and occupies open habitat.” Female and male common yellow-toothed cavies average 37.6 g and 36.4 g at birth, respectively. ''G. musteloides'' reproduces for the first time at one to three months of age; the minimum age needed to reproduce is twenty-eight days. Gestation lasts fifty-three days and lactation for three weeks. Litter size averages 2.7. In Peru, ''Galea'' sometimes associates with tuco-tucos ('' Ctenomys''). According to Sanborn and Pearson, ''Galea'' use tuco-tuco burrows and respond to tuco-tuco alarm calls.Eisenberg, J. F., & Redford, K. H. (1999)
Mammals of the Neotropics: The Central Neotropics (Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil)
Chicago: University of Chicago press. ''G. musteloides'' is mostly found in moist areas such as stream edges and croplands. In captive groups ''G. musteloides'' establish a male and a female hierarchical order. The alpha males regularly guard receptive females, but to little effect. Usually other males also mate with the same female and in more than 80% of cases the resulting littermates have more than one father. At least in captivity the females are clearly promiscuous, always mating with several males in the group. In the wild ''G. musteloides'' is clearly territorial, and it remains unclear if a similar hierarchical social order exists, or if they live solitarily. Aggression between adult males happens regularly. Adult male ''G. musteloides'' never engage in parental activities and are aggressive to subadult males even if they are their own offspring and very young. However, males are not aggressive to females. Adult females lactate and nurse the offspring of other females during their first week of life. Nearly all offspring receive some milk from females other than their mother. However, own offspring is cared for preferentially and for longer than one week. As closely related ''Galea'' species show a range of mating systems from monogamy to promiscuity, comparative studies are possible in these groups. General trends have been identified: a) testis size increases relative to body size in promiscuous species and b) higher social tolerance in captive held groups is associated with greater promiscuity and higher testosterone levels in males. Testosterone levels and aggression levels in males are not correlated. In fact females avoid above average aggressive males.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q305723 Cavies Mammals described in 1832 Mammals of the Andes Mammals of Patagonia Mammals of Argentina Mammals of Bolivia Mammals of Chile Mammals of Peru Mammals of Uruguay Taxonomy articles created by Polbot